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Saturday, May 14, 2005

UPA plans to play religion card �

Proposes Muslim Chief Minister in Bihar � do they understand the people's wish in Bihar?

Preetam Sohani
May 12, 2005

Should some one become Chief Minister in Bihar because he or she belongs to a specific religion? But that is exactly what is in cards for Bihar. The current UPA led Government is so hungry for power and money associated with power that they are ready to use the religion card again.

According to media reports, Offering a �secular formula� for the formation of an elected government in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party president and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said he was ready to �travel� even with the RJD, provided the Congress led the government and projected a Muslim as its Chief ministerial nominee.

Addressing newspersons here on Thursday afternoon, Paswan said a party delegation would call on UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the evening, offering her party the chance to head a secular dispensation in Bihar.

To a query, he said his party was ready to reconsider its earlier stand of not moving with the RJD in Bihar, if Sonia Gandhi accepted its proposal and projected a Muslim Chief Minister from the Congress to lead the government in the state.

He said the party would, however, still stand firmly behind its resolve not to have any truck with the BJP or be a party to any government headed by the RJD.

To a query he admitted that the ideal situation would have been had the JD-U come out of the NDA and with the Congress, Left and the other �like-minded� parties a �secular� government was installed.

In the given situation, to prevent the BJP and to prove wrong all those who had been charging him with having created a situation for President's rule in Bihar, Paswan said his party had taken this initiative for maintaining its commitment to the minority community.

�Our stand will help expose all those who have been shedding crocodile tears for the minorities,� he claimed.

Hoping that �good sense will prevail over the JD-U leaders�, he said the LJP would hold fresh talks with all �like-minded� parties including the JD-U for installation of a �secular� government minus the BJP.

�I am confident that the Left and other secular parties will come together and not miss this opportunity,� said Paswan. �I can well understand how tough it will be for the JD-U to sever ties with the BJP, but we are still hopeful,� he added.

Ruling out any dissension in the LJP, he said party MLAs in Bihar, projecting a �steel-like unity�, have stood by the decision to maintain equidistance from the BJP and the RJD and to ensure the installation of a �secular� government with a Muslim as its Chief Minister.

The proposal with which the delegation would meet Gandhi had been drafted by a special committee of the party set up for holding consultations on government formation. The committee, headed by party vice president Ranjan Yadav, had met the leaders of all �like-minded� parties including the JD-U and the Left, he added.

To a query, he said while the CPI-ML was opposed to having any understanding with either the BJP, RJD or the Congress, the other two Left parties - CPI and the CPM - were only against �travelling� with the BJP.

While the Samajwadi Party opposed any configuration with the BJP and the RJD, the NCP and the independent legislators were against maintaining any political relations with the BJP, he said.

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1 Comments:

Its really sad the way religion and caste come over the abilities of a person in most walks of life especially in politics and government service.

Paswan is like andy other 'Secular' neta, and he doesnt know the implications of his loose talk.Hope Laloo doesnt take this as a lost chance, by placing Shahabuddin as CM (Like our PM) and be a Background player (Like Sonia the 'super PM').